Common advice ignored

[Micca]

You would not believe all the people who immediately put on ponchos and covered up their strollers. It was like they had all choreographed it!

WDW has invented the Poncho Flash Mob

 

[MSPeeler]

This is a revelation to me. I just assumed I needed to wait in line. I'll have to check it out.

Yeah. We do this. With 7 people in our party and $3/bottle, we save $21.

 

[dreiwhit]

WDW has invented the Poncho Flash Mob

LOL! Love it!

I was thinking it could be a new Disney attraction. But, they would make us pay for it!

 

[cwis]

You're not cutting - it's what you're supposed to do. They often have them there already made and ready to go. All you have to do is ask.

You can also ask a cup of water at the outside carts, where there is rarely a line.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yeah. We do this. With 7 people in our party and $3/bottle, we save $21.

I'm guessing anyone poo pooing this suggestion isn't buying for 7.

 

[Suprize2017]

My family had our first trip to DW two years ago at the end of February. On our last day we went to Animal Kingdom. There was a light, misting rain all morning, but we didn't care. Around noon though, the rain came down in buckets and stayed steady for at least four hours, then went back to a light rain. We had rain jackets, so we were good (we thought). Since that was our first and only trip, so far, I'm surprised to read all these posts that talk about rain that doesn't last very long. I just assumed that what we experienced was not that uncommon. It felt like we had the park to ourselves, so we loved it. We rode Expedition Everest four times in a row with zero wait time between rides (I had to stop because I was getting a headache!). I share all that because we are heading back in four weeks and will take rain ponchos this time. The jackets were great, except for the fact that the kids had little backpacks that got soaked. I noticed that the "smart people" all had ponchos that covered their bags. I can easily get some ponchos at WalMart for a reasonable price, but would love to get the Disney ones. Can those only be purchased at the parks? I can't find them on-line anywhere.

 

[Micca]

Can those only be purchased at the parks? I can't find them on-line anywhere.

Check the Shop Disney Parks app, they may well be there.

 

[Auntrosie]

yeah, there are a lot of "tips" out there, and a lot of people make it seem like these are make it and break it for your trip. While I agree some are super helpful, some are take it or leave it, and also along with that, your mileage may vary on them. My first few trips, I brought all the "tips" and ended up with a bunch of crap I didn't need or use. But some of it I had to learn on my own, and it's about what I prefer, but someone else may be different. That being said, I do like Disney ponchos. I don't like the waste, and they are well built and will last for many trips. I will get water at QS locations, but only if it's convenient. For me, the most convenient and least amount of waste is a Brita.

I use the Ice Water to fill my Brita bottle.

 

[hsmamato2]

this thread is kind of I'm enjoying the read! for free water, we have always gone up to the pickup area and asked, usually there are cups all ready to go, if not, someone gets one fairly fast.... never once had a problem-that long line is for ordering food.... IMHO grabbing an ice water is picking something up..... ponchos? oh ponchos, how do I hate thee...... I have always had a few $ store ones for the occasional need, but we usually just bring our hiking type rainproof jackets for rain,and they double as windbreakers at night.... I like a small umbrella better anyway- as for the 'tips' I read,I don't use most of them- they just look like an overpackers list to me

 

[hsmamato2]

.....and I'm going to rephrase my (not love) for those ponchos...... the cheapies do work great for for the splash rides..... or in case of actual rain, good way to keep a purse dry..... then we toss them...... otherwise it's actual rain jackets....

 

[dreiwhit]

never once had a problem-that long line is for ordering food

FWIW, i've been in the food ordering line where the CM had to stop taking orders because so many people were in the queue after having their orders taken, waiting for their food.

Waiting in those lines is another reason why we decided to start bringing our own food in half way through our last trip. We just bought drinks from a gift shop or drank water.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I would never not bring a poncho AND an umbrella. We use ponchos for the water rides. On my last trip, our very last night we were parked in front of Cinderella Castle waiting to watch the new projection show, and it started POURING. We decided to tough it out with an umbrella and a large vinyl drop cloth I'd brought if we ever wanted to sit on the ground. The rain lasted at least 10 minutes and if we hadn't had those items, we would have been miserable because we weren't leaving without seeing the new show! I also used the umbrella as a parasol once at HS when we were waiting for the Stars Wars outdoor show. I didn't care how stupid I looked, it was 12-1pm ish, blazing hot sun and I'm pale as Casper. This lady does not CARE how stupid she looks, she's comfortable! I just pretended it was 1916 and parasols were normal for "ladies". LOL So ponchos and umbrellas for each person are a necessity for my family. (Totes size)

 

[eeyoresmom]

Not to change the subject but we usually ignore the advice to take advantage of morning emh even though we have AP'S and can park hop. We always go to the park that had emh the day BEFORE and arrive just before 9 am. My kids are all in their 20's and that extra hour of sleep in the morning is more valuable. Maybe when we start bringing grandkids we'll do the morning emh.

 

[ZoZo]

You can go into the food pickup lines to get the ice water.

Yep, the CMs will tell you to go straight to the pick-up counter to ask for water. They sometimes even have cups of water sitting there all ready to give out! No need to wait in line.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

I will be spending extra in the parks this week on things like drinks, snacks, water. I am going bagless and that's the trade off.

 

[ZoZo]

You can also ask a cup of water at the outside carts, where there is rarely a line.

Most carts only have bottled water, not fountain beverages. Water from fountain beverage stands is free, but bottled water from carts isn't free.

 

[WDWNY]

The free water is not a useful tip for us. We think it tastes like chlorine and would rather pay for bottled water.

I have mixed feelings about the ponchos, I use my disney one everyone else uses the cheap ones. I like the disney one (especially when it's cold since it's so thick) and I can rely on it not getting stuck on something in my bag and not ripping. However, since it does only rain for an hour or so putting a wet poncho in your bag isn't fun, tossing it sounds like a better option. Only reason I have the disney one is because I forgot mine at the hotel. Same day I managed to lose it on Space Mountain and bought another.

 

[cwis]

Most carts only have bottled water, not fountain beverages. Water from fountain beverage stands is free, but bottled water from carts isn't free.

On the contrary, I found that most of the carts do provide water cups.

Just to clarify, I am thinking about brick & mortar carts like these, not the rollaway carts (that, you are correct, sells only bottled water in a giant ice bucket):

(This picture only for illustration, I don't remember if this particular cart provides water. On the rare cases that a cart didn't, we found that CMs were able to kindly help us locate the nearest place where we could ask for water.)

 

[DisneyMom111]

I absolutely hate wearing a poncho! When we were there in May it started to rain one day so I bought a disney umbrella. It folds up pretty small and I just threw it in my bag. It came in very handy.

I personally agree with the OP about the bottled water. Plus, I'd rather get a bottle, have a drink and then throw it in my bag for later. You can't do that with a cup, it was get pretty messy...lol

 

[Uncranky Donald]

I totally agree about buying bottled waters. I bring one in from my room and buy as needed cuz I can drink & close it as i need to and its cold when i buy it (and love that they have SmartWater)I need to drink over 120ounces a day for my meds so QS free cups wouldn't work and I'm not filling my camel with sulfur water in the AM.

I also have stopped bringing "snacks" to the parks cuz I just end up driving them back home with me, cuz i don't WANT granola, crackers, fruit snacks & power bars in Disney..I want junk food!!!! I'm on vacation!!!